Bembix melanopa Handlirsch 1893

Bembix melanopa (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)

Original description in:
Handlirsch A. 1893. Monographie der mit Nysson und Bembex verwandten Grabwespen. VII. Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe. Abtheilung I. 102. Page 797 (Latin & German)
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/SBAWW_102_0657-0942.pdf

Detailled description with illustrations in:
Arnold, G. 1929. The Sphegidae of South Africa. Part XIII. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 13
https://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/entomology/Entomology_Resources/Hymenoptera/sphecidae/copies/Arnold_1929b.pdf

Male:
15-17 mm. long. Black. Sides of the labrum occasionally, and the middle of the mandibles, dirty yellow, two spots below the ocelli ochreous, the posterior orbits narrowly lemon yellow. A triangular mark on each side of the first tergite and bisinuate bands on the second to fifth tergites lemon yellow, that on the fifth usually interrupted in the middle. Legs yellow, the anterior tibiae and tarsi on the outside, the anterior femora on the outside and below, the middle femora above and at the base below, the middle tibiae behind, the hind femora above and below, the hind tibiae on the inside and a narrow line above, black. The apical joints of all the tarsi blackish. Wings hyaline, the veins brown. Last three or four joints of the flagellum brownish yellow below. Pilosity on the head and thorax whitish and fairly dense, the clypeus with a dense white pubescence. Mesonotum shallowly and fairly closely punctured, slightly shining. Sternites fairly coarsely punctured, sparsely so in the middle, much more closely at the sides, especially on the second sternite. Clypeus very convex and prominent, subcarinate at the base, slightly flattened in the middle in front. Face feebly carinate between the antennal sockets. Eyes parallel or nearly so. Vertex wide, deeply impressed on each side of the ocellar area. Interocular distance on the vertex equal to the length of the first five joints of the flagellum. Scapes thick. Second joint of the flagellum about one-half longer than the third, the fifth feebly, the sixth to ninth distinctly spinose on the posterior margin, the ninth to eleventh dilated and also excavated below, the apical joint curved, gradually narrowed towards the blunt apex and longer than the penultimate. Second sternite with a median longitudinal carina, slightly rising posteriorly and ending in a rounded angle. Sixth sternite with a narrow triangular platform, the seventh longitudinally carinate over its apical third. Seventh tergite strongly and closely punctured, very widely rounded at the apex. Basal joint of the anterior tarsi with six black spines. Middle femora with two or three teeth on the posterior margin near the apex. The shape of the yellow fasciae on the abdomen is decidedly variable. The commonest pattern is shown in fig. 17, Plate I, but sometimes the bands are wider and much less deeply bi-emargmate in front.

Female
16 mm.long. Posterior margin of the sides of the pronotum sometimes narrowly yellow. A very narrow line on the posterior margin of the scutellum and an arcuate one on the posterior margin of the median area of the epinotum, pale yellow. Basal joint of the middle and hind tarsi fuscous on the inside, the apical joint of all the tarsi brownish. Tergites 1-5 with dull whitish bands, not yellow as in the is. Those on the first and fifth usually reduced to a triangular mark on each side, that of the second enclosing a transverse black spot on each side. Puncturation like that of the male, but the second sternite has shallow and very large punctures in the middle. Apical half of the sixth sternite subcarinate longitudinally in the middle. Sixth tergite closely punctured except near the apex, where it is shining and more sparsely punctured. Second joint of the flagellum three-quarters longer than the third. Interocular distance on the vertex as in the male. Basal joint of the anterior tarsi with seven black spines, the basal spine shorter than the others.

Photos in:
Gess F, Gess S (2014) Geographical distributions of Bembix (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae, Bembicinae) in southern Africa, with notes on biology. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 36: 53-130. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.36.6491
figure 11 d: https://jhr.pensoft.net/showimg/oo_11860.jpg

Distribution: widespread, known from Kenya south to the southern Eastern Cape. Coming down to the coastal dunes but not restricted to the coast.

iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/248745884

Posted on October 25, 2024 09:50 AM by traianbertau